The U.S.S.R. Fell–and the World Fell Asleep

Author[Garry Kasparov [0] was the Russian Chess Grandmaster

makes this article even more impressive. My Mother in law escaped Hungary while under communism and moved back in 1990, their house was about 50 steps from a fenced russian military base, and they were still leaving while they moved back. I do not think the gravity of the words "we opened our windows and they were gone" really sets in unless someone lived through it.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Kasparov